Oct. 23: The transport department has decided to monitor the standard of vehicles and the quality of training provided by the motor training schools in the city.

Transport department sources said the authorities would soon launch a joint drive with the police. They said the department had received several complaints that the training schools are using unfit vehicles to impart training to learners.

“Most of the vehicles used for training do not even have the dual control system which is mandatory,” a source said, adding that the department could not allow such “hazardous ventures in the name of facilitating self-employment to some unemployed youths”.

Besides, the training sessions continue till the peak hours during the day, which is even more hazardous.

The transport department will also monitor the trainers at the schools. Sources said some of the trainers do not even have a driving license.

Some trainees said that they are taught only to start the engine and move the vehicle along the roads. They are not taught even the basic traffic rules of using blinkers while taking turns as a number of vehicles used for training do not have them. The quality of the training can be gauged from city drivers’ night-driving as only a few of them use dippers even when the vehicle from the opposite direction uses it.

Once a trainee learns to start the engine and drive on the road, motor vehicle authorities issue a driving licence and often, without any proper test. Sources said the transport department has information about a nexus between the trainers and the licensing authorities.

The department is also considering regulation of the fee structure of the schools. At present, the schools charge between Rs 900 and Rs 1,300 per head for one to three months’ training.